The Lawlessness of Prisons

Even though prisons house rule books full of complex rules, lawlessness is at the heart of it all. There is no comfort in pages of rules, and Blakinger learns this suddenly one day. She happened to overhear two guards talking about a woman who had been placed in solitary confinement. Apparently, the woman defecated on her food tray and pushed it all out through her meal slot into the hall. As a punishment, the guards turned off the water to her cell. One of the guards asked, "Wouldn't she get dehydrated?" and the other one said, "She can drink out of the toilet...If it's good enough for my dog, it's good enough for her" (191). Blakinger is haunted by the image of the thirsty woman.

Blakinger also learns how lawlessness feels through her own troubles. She is accused of hiding some drugs in her dreadlocks...